Share this:

Republican candidate for comptroller J. Christopher Callaghan didn’t have much trouble getting Capitol reporters to come to a press conference today for the latest on Democratic incumbent Alan Hevesi’s use of a state employee to chauffeur his wife around.

Callaghan questioned how Hevesi came up with the $82,688 figure he says he’ll repay the state for the driver’s time.

“They are pretty rump calculations for a situation of this magnitude,” Callaghan said, asking whether there are times sheets, for example, to back up the numbers. “How much research did we see in his calculations?”

Callaghan called for Hevesi to produce any time sheets used for the calculations, and asked whether he figured interest into the bill and if he plans to report the benefit as taxable income. He also asked whether there is a log of any security threats that would have justified assigning someone to guard his wife.

“We can hardly assume that the man who has so abused his public trust for so long can
be relied on to calculate his own restitution,” Callaghan said in a prepared statement.

Hevesi’s spokesmen have acknowledged the Democratic incumbent used an employee part time to drive his wife, Carol, around, and yesterday released calculations that showed how much time the worker spent with her on a percentage basis over the last four years.

Hevesi’s office has said Carol Hevesi has suffered chronic back pain and surgeries, open heart surgeries and severe depression, “the symptoms of which have frequently made it impossible for her to be left alone.” She is currently in a rehabilitative nursing home, according to Hevesi’s office.

Callaghan also noted that his own wife suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation, and couldn’t drive this summer, so their three grown sons juggled driving duty. “We had to figure out ways to get to doctors appointments and elsewhere.”

Asked if he plans to use the controversy over the chauffeur for campaign commercials, Callaghan, who so far has been far behind in the polls, said it would depend on money. As for money, he said he didn’t know if the flap and the attention he’s getting because of it will translate into substantial donations or help from the Republican party.

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.